Classifying cancer-associated fibroblasts—The good, the bad, and the target

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2024.08.011
• Publication Date: 2024-09-09T14:49:21Z
• Authors: Lena Cords; Natalie de Souza; Bernd Bodenmiller
• Keywords: Phenotype; Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts; Neoplasms; Tumor Microenvironment; Humans; Animals; 610 Medicine & health; Single-Cell Analysis; 11493 Department of Quantitative Biomedicine

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are heterogeneous and ubiquitous stromal cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Numerous CAF types have been described, typically using single-cell technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing. There is no general classification system for CAFs, hampering their study and therapeutic targeting. We propose a simple CAF classification system based on single-cell phenotypes and spatial locations of CAFs in multiple cancer types, assess how our scheme fits within current knowledge, and invite the CAF research community to further refine it.